Prison Employee Union Calls for Pay Raise

The Cleveland Corrections Center, located 50 miles northeast of Houston, is a private prison operated by the GEO group under the authority of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

A union representing Texas prison employees is calling on the Legislature to consider a pay raise for correctional officers, saying current employee shortages could be dangerous and will only be exacerbated by a boom in drilling jobs in areas that house most of the state’s prisons.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which agrees that it must compete and has offered bonuses to lure employees away from those drilling jobs, says it has no security concerns related to staffing and is working with the Legislature to raise pay for guards.

“There are 18 prison units in that area alone, and that area is expected to see a substantial increase in oil fracking and drilling,” said Lance Lowry, president of the Texas chapter. “Many COs [correctional officers] see the earning potential in the oil industry and are going there.”

Prison officials also attribute the shortage to the rise of the oil and gas industry in South Texas, which created lucrative drilling jobs that compete with prisons for workers. The private companies pay better, agreed Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman John Hurt in December. “But the state is always having that problem,” he said. “We're never going to be able to compete financially with the private sector.”

Last year, prison officials offered a $3,000 bonus to new prison employees in certain units where the oil and gas boom had created the most competitive hiring environment. "The agency is working closely with the legislature regarding pay raises for our employees," Hurt said, adding that the department will ask the Legislature to fund officer dormitories, an added perk as they try to recruit new hires.

Hurt maintained that the department has no security concerns and that no staffing policies are being violated.